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| Author: Posted: Sep. 8, 2002 | This Page Viewed: 7,017,828 |
Question of the Week: 36 - 4/9/2001 Should the United States Apologize to China Hopefully, the tense situation between China and the U.S. will resolved soon and the flight crew will come home. Should the United States apologize to help make that happen? Both sides state that the other side is at fault. Is it national pride, administration politics or just plain stubbornness at work here? Both countries came out early with the saber rattling. Did they both say too much, too soon and now must 'save face' and not back away from that position? How do Pagans in other countries view this incident? Does pride really cometh before a fall? Is principle or practicality more important in certain situations? If you were running things, what would YOU do? |
| Reponses: There are 32 responses posted to this question. | Reverse Sort |
| The Way The News Came Out Here In South Africa Made It... | Apr 11th. at 10:29:57 am EDT |
| Aquila (Johannesburg, South Africa) | Age: 41 - Email |
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The way the news came out here in South Africa made it absolutely clear that (in our journalists' opinions) the USA had been on a spying mission and had presumably wiped out the Chinese pilot, and was now making ridiculous aggressive noises at China! Myself, I'm a dyed-in-the-wool anarchist, and I thought I disliked all governments equally......until George Dubya came along. Somehow he manages to display a horrifying image of arrogance made so much worse by rank ignorance. I don't like politicians, but the President of the USA takes the biscuit! As several people have already pointed out, just how would America react if the boot were on the other foot? Methinks you'd be at war already! Blessings Aquila |
| Sigh* I Guess My Post Was One Of The Ones Erased. I... | Apr 11th. at 2:41:21 pm EDT |
| KaLee (Ripley, West Virginia US) | Age: 14 - Email |
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*Sigh* I guess my post was one of the ones erased. I hope I can remember what all I posted. Here is goes again: I am glad this question was asked. I was found a few days ago, screaming at the TV "JUST APOLOGIZE ALREADY!" . If a grown man cannot get over his pride and say two simple word to get our AMERICAN men back on our AMERICAN soil, no matter whose fault it is, then scoot over Dubya, I am taking over. No, it probably wasn't our fault. Or, if it was, it was certainly an accident. But there are our people over there, with families and friends. People who could be being tortured right now for government secrets. People who could die just for two words and a giant stick up our President's ass. George, you are not going to die just because you have to apologize, but there are good men over there who might. Stop being such a child. |
| So We Were Spying. No Big Revelation There. We Spy On Them... | Apr 11th. at 6:43:02 pm EDT |
| Jeff (Havre de Grace, Maryland US) | Age: 43 |
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So we were spying. No big revelation there. We spy on them and they spy on us. Our plane was in international airspace. The Chinese were playing an old game similar to the games the Soviet Union would play. A cat-and-mouse game with big hardware capable of resulting in the death of someone. All sides play this game. The Chinese would have loved nothing more than to provoke the US into making a mistake which they could come back on us. Well they messed up. A show of regret is all that is required. An appology would place the US in a bad position resulting in lawsuits and possible prision for the crew - in CHINA. Also the crew is well aware of the risks involved with the job. G.W., as much as I hate to say it, performed as his duty as Commander-In-Chief demanded of him. |
| Repost: Yeah All Countries Spy On One Another. That Is Just A... | Apr 11th. at 10:32:28 pm EDT |
| Autumn SilverFerret (Montoursville, Pennsylvania US) | Age: 22 - Email |
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Repost: Yeah all countries spy on one another. That is just a cold fact. As another post said we got caught. I think Bush should get past his pride and apologize, if that's what it takes to get those American citizens home, then so be it. For a man who doesn't even believe that my religion is real, he certainly doesn't follow his own. He doesn't seem to hold those human lives as sacred or he would apologize. Instead he risks theirs for a silly little spat. Don't get me wrong I love this country. We have a written constitution, some countries don't. We have certain freedoms that others don't. And I honor and respect the people who fought for those freedoms and are still fighting. An apology couldn't hurt to bring those people home to their families. We are grownups and if we let this petty dispute get in the way of bringing those people home then there is definitely something wrong with this country. For too long we've been playing watchdog to other countries when it's not our business. Other countries dislike us Americans for that very reason. It's time we backed down. Just because another country has a different system of government than we do, our government feels it must step in. That system works for them. Ours works for us. If we were in China's position we would be demanding the same thing if not more. We'd be screaming for blood. We killed their pilot not the other way around. In short apologize, apologize, apologize! Love and Light! ~Autumn |
| The U.s. Should Use This As An Opportunity To Get The Truth... | Apr 13th. at 2:39:41 am EDT |
| Dream (here, Michigan US) | Age: 30 - Email |
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The U.S. should use this as an opportunity to get the truth into the open: we will continue to spy on you until you disarm, as we expect you will continue to spy on us. Does this change anything? Maybe. You have proved yourselves decent enough to return our people to us. Now we have to find a way to prove ourselves as hospitable/decent/human as you. Never stop working for a better world. |
| In Today's World, Covert Intelligence Or Spying Is Not Only Common, It... | Apr 13th. at 8:26:58 am EDT |
| Frank (Okeechobee, Florida US) | Age: 32 - Email |
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In today's world, covert intelligence or spying is not only common, it is a requirement if we are to ensure national security. It's nasty business and opens up doors to all kinds of problems. I know allot of us would like to see it go the way of the dinosaurs, but sadly, it will not. As for the apology, things go deeper than just saying, "Hey look man, I'm sorry." In countrys like China, the word "Apology" carries more than just the common sentiments of regret. If the U.S. were to fromally apologize, we are in fact saying, "We accept full responsibility, it was all our fault and our honor is less because of it." Saying things like "Im sorry" and "We apologize" are very serious phrases when it comes to diplomacy and world affairs. Sadly, relations on this scale cannot be so easily or innocently managed. There are no easy or universally agreeable approaches to this problem, what must be done is a careful analysis of the situation and a mutually agreeable solution. Remember, the government of China must save face, like it or not. Were they to allow us to just saunter in thier country and just run things, they would lose respect and standing in thier country and in the world. That's not only unacceptable, it can be dangerous on a global scale. Personally, I think this whole thing was handled the best way it could have been, considering who we were dealing with. As for the President, when it comes to things like this, I'm thankful that people like Colin Powell and the Vice President are on the team. President Bush is just not seasoned enough to deal with countries like China, they have no respect for him. He's unproven. Cheney and Powell are differnt. China respects Cheney's experience and his ability. As for Powell, we all know who really solved this mess in China, and so does he. When you look at Powell, think "President", after all, he will have that title one day. |
| Having Spent Over 20 Years In The Military Defending Our Freedom Of... | Apr 13th. at 10:14:41 pm EDT |
| Carlee (Denver, Colorado US) | Age: 40 |
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Having spent over 20 years in the military defending our freedom of religion, among other things....the last thing Bush should do is apologize. The aircrew would not want it, and accepting responsibility would leave the crew open for prosecution by the Chinese! Remember, this is a very different culture, and not a free one as ours is. (However, Dubbya got a little too arrogant at the start...and made the situation worse) Thank the Goddess the crew is home safe - props don't fly well when you lose two engines on one side!! |
| I Don't Really Believe The United States Should Have Had Their Spy... | Apr 14th. at 3:32:08 pm EDT |
| Joseph Hancock (Maple Creek, Saskatchewan CA) | Age: 41 |
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I don't really believe the United States should have had their spy plane over in that part of the world when it is supposed to be at peace with the People's Republic of China. This may fly in the face of a lot of people but I do think that if an apology is owed then the US should be first to tender it. I also think it would be appropriate for China to also apologize, both parties to shake hands, and both try to live a little more peacefully after this. Blame or fault is generally on both sides of these incidents but I think the United States spy plane triggered the incident. |
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